Last week’s decision by the state Supreme Court has dealt a major blow to Hu Honua Bioenergy. The company has nearly completed construction on a facility in Pepeekeo that will burn biomass to generate electricity.

The state Supreme Court ruled that the Public Utilities Commission abused its discretion and broke the law by failing to take into account potential greenhouse gas emissions during Hu Honua’s application for a purchase power agreement with the electric company. According to plans, the biomass burning plant would supply 14% of the Big Island’s electricity needs. The court ordered the PUC to reopen the power purchase agreement process, which can take many months.

HNN interviewed Marco for comment on recent developments: “The reality is that there are better, cheaper, healthier alternatives than burning biomass in a power plant on this island and in this state.” While biased toward solar, Marco does not consider himself a stakeholder as he is not involved in selling large amounts of power to a utility.